Comment from Alden Abbott (Senior Research Fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University)
Mercatus Center at George Mason UniversitySupportAcademic
Summary: Alden Abbott, a Senior Research Fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, argues that the FTC and DOJ should issue clear, modern guidance that distinguishes between procompetitive collaborations and anticompetitive collusion. He specifically advocates for safe harbors and presumptions of legality for AI-related R&D, infrastructure, standards, and privacy-related information sharing to prevent "overdeterrence" and encourage innovation.
As I explain in the attached Public Interest Comment, the Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice should use this inquiry into collaboration among competitors to provide modern guidance that promotes innovation without compromising traditional antitrust safeguards against naked collusion and exclusion. For AI and related nascent technologies, the sound economic presumption is that bona fide R&D collaboration, infrastructure coordination, standards and interoperability work, and privacy- and portability-related information sharing are often procompetitive and welfare enhancing. A legal regime that leaves such conduct perpetually uncertain will predictably discourage investment, delay capacity expansion, impede interoperability, and slow the development of safety and privacy tools. A clearer regime would instead allow firms to cooperate where cooperation expands output and innovation, while continuing to prohibit coordination that substitutes collusion for competition. The Agencies should adopt guidance that reflects that distinction with candor and precision.